Photo Booth Fun
by Dreaming-Of-A-Nightmare
Summary: While their day at Six Flags Great America came to a weary close, Richie got an idea for a last-minute memory-making activity. Virgil didn't know what it was, but as soon as he found out, he smiled and decided to go with the flow. .:. VR slash, yay!


**A/N: My sister said to me, "Draw me a picture for me to color! Anything is good, so long as it's cute and gay." So I drew for her a picture of Grimmjow and Ulquiorra (for those who know, characters from the anime 'Bleach') in a stream of pictures being held by Ulquiorra's hand. There were four, lined vertically in your stereotypical photo booth collection. And while outlining the drawing in my ink pen, I thought, **_**Wouldn't it be adorable if I wrote a drabble about Richie and Virgil getting their pictures taken in a photo booth somewhere? **_**And then I hopped on my computer and typed this little ficlet up. As for why I chose Six Flags Great America as the setting… well, it's the same place where I took my first photo booth pictures with a friend of mine. So I re-created the scenario, but added MUCH more slash. Whoo-hoo! :D**

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It was blistering hot outside. There wasn't a single cloud big enough to cover the sun for even a moment of shade, and being in a theme park, it was impossible to find a tree to sit under. And the fact that the ground was solid black pavement didn't help at all. What did help, however, were the scattered ice cream and other concession stands throughout the park, as well as an entire water-ride focused section towards the eastern end. The roller coasters, too, provided a rush of cooling wind and adrenaline to help beat the heat.

But seventeen-year-olds Virgil Hawkins and Richie Foley already went on all the exciting rides, and went around the entire water park half of Six Flags Great America, and now all that was left were the games and food spots and souvenir stores. They already spent a large chunk of their money just to get in and do a couple of the activities, one of which was to get matching Henna dye tattoos across the broad width of their shoulders. The tattoos, oddly enough, both featured intricate designs that looked oddly close to turning gears and electric sparks. Not that anyone else understood what the secret meaning behind these marks was, which only made the temporary tattoos all the more entertaining.

The two boys strolled around the gaming lot, picking out a few games here and there to stop and give a try. They both succeeded in shooting enough hoops to win five large stuffed toys, one of which they saved to give to Batman the next time they saw him (it was a plush of the Dark Knight himself, created as tribute to both him and the roller coaster named after him).

They won other little oddities that they wore around their necks or on their heads, such as large plush boa constrictors and hats with Bugs Bunny's ears on top. And as their money grew thinner in their wallets and as their clothes finally dried in the heat, they stopped for a rest on one of the many benches, but chose to be seated under the shade of a bridge that carried a small train around the park.

"Man, I am _beat_," Richie wheezed as he plopped himself down beside the mocha teen. His bare, sweaty arm stuck to his friend's, but the other hardly noticed. "What time is it? We've been here since eleven this morning."

"It's nearly seven," Virgil remarked tiredly as he glanced at his watch. "Pops will be here soon to pick us up. We should make our way to the parkin' lot."

The blond nodded as he wiped his brow, a bundle of toys sitting beside him. "Maybe we should grab somethin' cold before we head out. If we don't, I think I might pass out from heat stroke."

Virgil chuckled as he rested his head against the back of the bench. "Sure, Rich. I'll buy ya some Dippin' Dots or somethin'. You like the chocolate mint best, right?"

"Mhm," Richie hummed. "And hurry, V, 'cause I don't know how long I'll last…"

Virgil chuckled again. "Drama queen," he said with a roll of his eyes. He ruffled Richie's sweaty blond spikes before hauling himself up in search of a Dippin' Dots stand. Luckily, there was one about forty feet away. He traipsed over, bought himself a medium cup with banana split and purchased Richie a large cup with chocolate mint, and then strolled back, being careful not to spill the little frozen balls of dairy.

"Here ya go," he said, and handed the blond his cup and spoon. "They taste best when melted a bit, but the heat's so bad that they're halfway there already."

Richie smiled. "Thanks for the head's up," he said as he took the cup and dug a spoonful. A few of the dots stuck to his lips, but eventually he was able to start scooping them in without this problem.

While eating, Virgil ventured, "Is there anything else to do before we go, or should we just head out after we're done eating these?"

Richie thought for a moment while he licked the underside of his spoon. "Hmm. There is one more memorable thing we didn't get to do yet…"

"Oh?" Virgil said with a spark of curiosity. "And what's that?"

Richie flashed him a grin. "I saw it on our way here, but was too hot to stop and bother with it. But now…"

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "C'mon, bro, tell me what it is."

"Nope, you'll have to wait and see," the genius retorted with another bite of ice cream in his mouth. Truth was, he didn't want Virgil to think he was being ridiculous when he told him what the idea was. He'd rather force Virgil into it than have him shoot it down right away. Not that Virgil was a killjoy or anything; on the contrary, he often made things more fun that they ever could be. But what Richie had in mind was on the brink of being romantic, and those sorts of things tended to make Virgil a wee uneasy.

They finished their ice cream quickly, all the while Virgil questioning Richie, making an effort to get the blond to spill the beans. But the blond merely kept a grin sealed on his lips, and insisted that Virgil would find out in a few minutes if he just had the patience to wait a little bit longer.

"Alright, let's go, V," he said as he dunked his empty Dippin' Dots bowl and spoon into a nearby garbage can.

"Go? But where to?" Virgil tried again."

"You'll see," Richie persisted. He grabbed his chocolate-skinned friend by the arm and dragged him along, all their won toys lagging behind them. They stumbled over to a small box with an open baby blue curtain. "Here we are."

The electric part-time superhero stared at the box incredulously. "A photo booth?" he chuckled lightly. "You want to take a bunch of pictures for one of those print-out strips?"

"Yep," Richie said confidently, despite feeling as though Virgil was dissing the idea. "Now are you gonna clamber into the torture chamber with me, or am I gonna have to shove you in?"

Virgil laughed. "Nah, I'll 'clamber' on in willingly." He set their stuff down, hoping it wouldn't get jacked, and shuffled into the booth with Richie in front of him. He slid the curtain closed, already feeling the stifling heat building in the tiny space.

Richie put in the last of his money into the machine and watched as the screen in front of them changed and slowed them o pick out a border, any words, or to type in any names. If they wanted grayscale, color, or sepia tone. On and on, until finally the screen read, 'Thank you for your purchase! Please wait for the red light above to blink five times, and then strike a pose when the flash goes off! This will repeat for each of the four photos. Have a nice day!'

They read it aloud to each other, making weird voices that sounded over-excited and polite. Then, they huddled together as the red light began to blink.

Richie reached around and brought his hand behind Virgil's head, making bunny ears. Virgil did the same to him, and they squished their faces close together while pulling a whacky face; Virgil's with fish-lips, Richie's with his tongue sticking out and winking one eye from under his sweat-slipping glasses.

The camera made a noise as a flash went off, and then there was a green light before the red one returned and started to blink once more.

This time, Virgil pushed Richie forwards, toward the camera, and overlapped his hands atop Richie's head as he stood behind him. Richie laughed and brought his hands up, fingers widespread, on either side of his face as he made an innocent smile. Above him, Virgil grinned wickedly. The camera flashed.

Giggling, they fell back onto the bench and prepared themselves for their next stunt to pose with. Feeling bold, and poking fun at the time's he's fallen and been caught by his friend, Richie hopped into a startled Virgil's lap and brought his arms around Virgil's neck. Getting the idea, Virgil chuckled again and held Richie in return, one arm curled around the genius's waist, as they both looked to the camera and pretended to look annoyed, as if they were forced into the position. But their eyes couldn't hide the mirth they felt inside.

The flash signaled for a third time, and they immediately broke apart to make up one final pose.

"What should we do this time?" Richie asked.

Virgil took his hand. The blond froze, wondering for a second if Virgil had figured him out. But that's when the mocha teen raised their conjoined hands in the air and opened his mouth in a silent victory cry. Richie smiled before following his lead and doing the same. The flash blinded them for a minute.

And then it was over. The machine whirred, said to wait one moment while the pictures processed and printed.

The two flew the curtain open and hobbled out, relieved to find that none of their prizes were stolen. Then, as they collected their possessions into their arms, they stood by and waited for the pictures to print. They had ordered two copies, so that each of them could own a strip of goofy memories. They had chosen a boarder with lightning bolts, finding it only appropriate for Virgil's secret identity. And they stuck with full-color photos, because while grayscale looked nice, it wasn't as vibrant as their personalities were.

As soon as the pictures printed, Richie instantly wished that the camera wasn't so good at picking up reds, because his face was clearly blushing. He only hoped that Virgil saw it as sunburn or a heat flush, and not what it truly was, which happened to be a blush of embarrassment from all the contact they made in that short time span.

"These look great!" Virgil beamed as he draped an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Seriously, Rich, this was an awesome idea. I'm glad you talked me into it. I never took one of these before."

"No?" Richie inquired with a tilt of his head to look the other over as they began walking toward the exit. "My mom, cousin, and aunt took one when I was, like, six. It was easy for all of us to fit, since my cousin and I were both shrimps." It had been a fun day that day; his father and uncle had gone off to do whatever while the mothers took their children around the Mall of America. Richie had never been to Minnesota prior to that, but he liked the view and found the indoor roller coasters and Charlie Brown store as the coolest things ever. And it was funny, because at the time, those photo booths onto too simply black and whites, and his cousin had been a little girl his age, which might look funny to anyone else who might stumble across the photo strip in later years.

"Haha, how cute. I bet you and your cousin resorted to all kinds of dorky faces just to piss your mothers off," Virgil remarked as they stepped out of the park and into the parking lot of Six Flags.

"Actually, the moms made funnier faces than we did," Richie laughed. He tucked his photo strip into one of his many pockets of his cargo shorts. "But I think our pictures are better."

"Of 'course they are," Virgil said simply as he waved to his father, whom was standing outside of his vehicle, waiting for them. He would've come with, but the boys had won two free tickets in a contest at the end of their junior year, so they decided not to waste the money on one ticket. "Because they feature the infamous Static and Gear."

"Only no one knows that it's the infamous Static and Gear," Richie said as he removed Virgil's arm from his shoulder. The darker of the two was still shirtless from their water park adventures, and it was making Richie uncomfortable. He had pretended not to notice when they were taking pictures how Virgil's skin brushed his own. Richie also pretended not to notice how overly warm, suddenly, his thin cotton tee felt.

"Yo, Pops!" Virgil greeted as they strolled up to the older man. "Look what we got!" and he dropped all of their toys and other merchandise into an awaiting trunk.

"I know," his father chortled, "And I have a feeling that half of this stuff with wind up at the Center."

"It probably will," Richie agreed. He stashed his own possessions away into the trunk, and then slammed the trunk latch shut. "So… shall we go? I could use some air conditioning right about now."

"And _water!_" Virgil rasped with his best dying-of-thirst-in-the-desert impression. But it was more like an overdramatic actor's version than anything realistic. "I need _waaaaterrrr_!"

"Cooler's in the backseat, son," his dad smiled. Richie dove into the backseat a second later, and Virgil did the same form the other side. It separated them, the narrow bin strapped into the middle seat. "And buckle up now, because I want to hurry on out before the closing-hour rush. It's murder to get out of this parking lot when that happens."

"Aye aye, cap'n," Virgil saluted as he cracked open the lid on his water bottle. He proceeded to chug the contents while Richie fished around for some clean ice cubes. The blond held the melting chunks to his forehead while he drank his own water.

"Dude, we have to come again some time. That Superman coaster was sweet."

"And so was the Ragin' Bull! I could ride that thing three times in a row and not get sick of it. That is, y'know, if the line's short," Virgil added around another gulp of cool liquid.

Richie nodded. Then, from the front seat, Robert Hawkins wondered, "What was your favorite part of the day, boys?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Virgil grinned. He tossed his hand in the air and made a swishing noise. "When I got three baskets in a row and shocked the guy running the hoop challenge. He got all ecstatic and offered me the biggest Taz they had. I took it, of 'course; you saw how he took up half the trunk."

Richie laughed. Then he lied, because the event he was about to name actually happened to be his _second_ favorite. "That was pretty rad, man. But my favorite part was being flushed down the toilet."

Robert got the joke. "You mean that big bowl in the water park, I hope," he chortled.

Beside the blond, Virgil nodded as he shook with laughter. He rested one arm on top of the cooler while Richie ate the remainder of the ice cubes he cooled his face with. "You shouldda seen him, Pops. Rich was all over that ride! Totally owned it. He musta gone down on that yellow raft at least ten times. At one point, I just told him to meet me in the Lazy River, 'cause I wanted to see the rest of the park."

"Hey, it's not my fault that the thing was so freaking awesome! You can't blame me for wanting to do it over and over again." Richie said in mock defense.

"We're not blaming you at all," Robert responded as he turned on his turning signal at an intersection. "Next time, I'll come along and see for myself. Maybe even get Sharon and Adam to join."

"Oh, no," Virgil said, "I could just imagine the fun Sharon would have in the gift shop at the water park… There's enough bathing suits, jewelry, hats and bags to keep her happy for ages. You saw all the crap she bought when we went to Africa!"

His father laughed again as he took the turn on a green arrow. "True. I'll have to make sure to restrict her."

Virgil said something after that, but by this time Richie was staring out the window, half of his mind distracted as he pulled out his strip from the photo booth and beamed softly at the four frozen scenes in time. He would most likely end up treasuring it for the rest of his life, as pathetic as it was. But he couldn't help it; these were probably the closest thing he would ever have as evidence to the fact that Virgil might return some of Richie's feelings. 'Might' being the key word here.

"What cha doin', Rich?" a low voice cut through Richie's thoughts.

He turned to find Virgil leaning over the cooler, his face closer than it should be. "Oh, um… Nothing. Just thinking."

"You do that too much," Virgil smirked. He peered over Richie's shoulder as the blond hurriedly put away his pictures. "Did you have a good time, bro?"

"Are you kidding?" Richie said with a slightly forced smirk in riposte. "I had the time of my life."

"Just tired now, right?" Virgil said.

"Wiped," Richie agreed with a huff. He fell back into the seat for effect.

"Then take a nap or somethin'. We won't be in Dakota for a long while yet."

"Yeah, good idea," the blond sighed, eyes closing for a second. He felt Virgil remove his glasses. He blinked his eyes open, only to find Mr. Hawkins turning on the radio softly and Virgil beaming over at him. Richie smiled. "Thanks."

"Nap, bro," Virgil reminded him, and Richie didn't have to be told twice.


End file.
